Iranian VP resigns as regime rejects US talks

“The Leader Khamenei said that we will not talk to the United States, and I announce that we will not talk to the United States. It is over,” Pezeshkian declared.

By Jewish Breaking News

The Iranian rial has collapsed to historic lows, hovering above 920,000 against the US dollar. Oil tankers drift aimlessly at sea, unable to deliver their cargo. Frozen assets remain locked away in foreign banks.

This is the reality of Iran under what Donald Trump dubbed his “maximum pressure” campaign – a strategy now continuing into Trump’s second term that has pushed the Islamic Republic’s economy to the brink.

“We are in a full-scale war with the enemy, and they are imposing economic pressure on us. The situation today is worse than the eight-year war with Iraq,” President Masoud Pezeshkian told parliament on Sunday.

“With Trump’s signature, the country’s oil tankers and gas ships are left adrift, wondering how to get the energy to its destination.”

The Iranian president also pointed to financial challenges caused by the non-repayment of debts by several countries. “$6bn,” he noted bluntly. “Qatar will not return $6bn, and Iraq and Turkey are not paying back their debts either.”

Frozen in South Korean banks due to US sanctions and later transferred to accounts in Doha as part of a 2023 prisoner swap deal, the funds remain inaccessible following what state-run ISNA reports describe as a “quiet understanding” between Washington and Qatar.

Still, Iran is refusing to bend to American demands for negotiations.

“The Leader Khamenei said that we will not talk to the United States, and I announce that we will not talk to the United States. It is over,” Pezeshkian declared.

“I believe in dialogue and will remain so, but what the Leader has determined regarding negotiations with the United States, we will stand on this position until the end and will not act on anything else.”

Meanwhile, Iranian Vice President Mohammad Javad Zarif has announced his resignation.

Though ISNA insists his resignation bears no relation to leaderships refusal to engage with Washington, political observers note that Zarif, who previously crafted the 2015 nuclear agreement, likely joined Pezeshkian’s government with hopes of reviving diplomatic channels.